The FBI paid professional hackers to break into the San Bernardino iPhone

The FBI hired professional hackers to help it break into the
iPhone used by one of the suspected shooters in the San
Bernardino terrorist attack, according to a Washington Post report.

The hackers reportedly shared knowledge of an unknown software
bug with the FBI which enabled them to decipher the four digit
security code that unlocks the iPhone.

Previously, the FBI was pressuring Apple to help them crack the
code. But with the hackers' assistance, the government
agency was able to unlock the phone in late March.

The agency has not yet identified who the hackers are and has not
disclosed how much they were paid, according to the report.

The Post reports that the security flaw alone was not enough to
gain access to the device.

The agency and hackers had to also create a separate piece of
hardware to get around the security features set in place to keep
people from guessing the pin that unlocks the phone.

Apple's iPhones have a security feature that erases all of the
data on the iPhone if the wrong pin is entered 10 times. The FBI
wanted Apple to help it get around this feature so that it could
enter unlimited pins. Apple refused to do so because the company
did not want to set a dangerous precedent of giving the
government access to data stored on its devices.

While the FBI finding a way into the phone without Apple's help
is good news for the company, it also raises concerns about the
unknown security flaw that the hackers discovered. It's still
unclear whether the government will share information regarding
the bug with Apple, and the tech giant said that it would not sue
the government in order to find the flaw and the solution.